


Emotions: Featuring: the Bad End

by orphan_account



Series: Emotion-desu [1]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Bullying, Feels, Fluff, M/M, Sadness, Suicide, feelslikecryingman, futaba can walk down stairs backwards au, im a bad person:the fanfiction, minor smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-12
Updated: 2017-10-12
Packaged: 2019-01-16 11:29:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12341790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: ReUploadAkira Kurusu at this point, is just doing what he's been doing. That is, until he suddenly feels extremely tired after school and is forced to go to Mementos.And then that's where the gayness happens.Emotions are at end just fair warning for y'all.





	Emotions: Featuring: the Bad End

**Author's Note:**

> I'm too lazy to actually put chapters so here ye go.

Chapter 1: School

The train’s crowded, and Akira’s being shoved against the wall. He’s very uncomfortable, but he’ll have to stand strong through it all. It seems like someone might drop all of their things and make a mess, perhaps they drop their coffee and burn someone’s leg, staining the train floor. Akira stops paying attention to the people near him, and he starts to think about someone. After a bit, the train doors open, crowds scrambling outside of them. Akira gets flushed out with the crowd, almost tripping on multiple occasions. A figure that looks like that someone Akira was thinking about approaches,  
“Hey!” they greet.  
“Hi Ryuji,” Akira replies.  
Ryuji seems to be limping, his leg must be aching pretty bad then. It happens a lot so Akira doesn’t look to be too surprised, but he always is concerned when it happens.  
“Here, you can lean on my shoulder,” Akira offers.  
“Thanks,” Ryuji replies with a smile  
Now they’re on their way to Shujin Academy. It was just small talk all the way, occasional remarks about Mementos. The two reach the school gates. They continue to walk together until they reach the 2nd year hallway. They say good-bye to each other, Akira waving with a smile, Ryuji holding up a peace sign with a small grin. Class is easily one of the most boring things on a regular day to Akira. It was lecture after lecture about things that he never realy cared about. He listened to the lectures just in case he got called on, but he usually just ended up staring out the window.  
The teacher called Akira’s name.  
“Were you paying any attention at all, Kurusu?” he called out, to Akira’s surprise. He jumped, then he spots the paper bullet the teacher was folding.  
“Well this ought to show you to pay attention in class,” he demanded as he flicked the paper in Akira’s direction. Akira barely dodges, luckily. His classmates stare at Akira in disbelief, and laughter. The teacher growls, to Akira’s satisfaction, snickering quietly. He was relieved that he didn’t get hit. Those actually hurt because the teacher flicks them so fast, not to mention that the students laugh at who-ever gets hit, not the teacher.

Chapter 2: Mementos

Class has ended, and Akira is the last one to get up and exit the classroom. He spots Ryuji by the stairwell, but Akira only glances, because of how tired he suddenly feels. Akira got enough sleep, or at least he thought, last night. He then approaches the rooftop door. He noticed that Ryuji ran in front of him, was it because he didn’t even say hi to him..? Anyway, the two of them had arrived at the roof. Their teammates sitting on the beat up chairs and tables.  
“Are we all ready?” Futaba asks,  
“Yes, let’s go,” Akira replies.  
“Alrighty~ Let’s get this show on the road!” Morgana meows, leading the team to Shibuya station. The gang then enters the Metaverse, running into the station into Mementos. Joker decides not to drive because of how tired he is. Queen is the only one capable of driving the Mona-mobile besides Joker, so she drives. Joker leans on Skull. Joker hadn’t realized how exhaustion could effect him so much. He wanted to pass out, but he couldn’t because he needed to fight the shadows.  
Skull could tell that Joker was extremely tired, so he tried his best to support Joker in every way that he could. In the Mona-mobile, he even told Joker that he could sleep if he needed to.  
Conveniently, the next floor down was the Rest Stop. Joker and Skull were the first to sit down, which was unusual, especially because Joker never actually sits down.  
“Are you okay Joker?” Queen asks.  
“I’m fine,” Joker replies, “Just tired,”  
Queen isn’t convinced, and she insists that the Thieves go back.  
“We can keep going, I just won’t be able to fight--”  
“Kurusu,” Makoto demands.  
She said Akira’s last name in the Metaverse. Nobody saw that coming. Joker knew it was serious if she did that, so he ended up agreeing to head back up. He was almost grateful for it.  
The thieves headed to the Mementos exit. They were headed to Cafe Leblanc, so Akira could rest.  
Chapter 3: Unknown Sickness

After the team made it to Café LeBlanc, they entered, and Sojiro asks,  
“What happened to you, Akira? You look miserable.”  
“I-i-i’m fine. J-just real tired.”  
“You’re stuttering real bad, that’s not like you.”

Akira’s vision begins to get cloudy. His head starts shaking, and his limbs fall.  
“Akira!?”

“Akira!?!?”  
  
There’s nothing in Akira’s mind. He’s unconscious. And he’s being carried very quickly upstairs to the attic.  
“Makoto, Ann, get Dr. Takemi!” Futaba yells.  
“On it!”  
“Ryuji, you’ll stay here with me while the others go home.”  
“O-okay!”  
While Ryuji lays Akira on the futon, Futaba searches for something that could help him, there’s gotta be something… right? Ryuji then lays the comforter on top of Akira, and then sits next to him. He sighs and rests his head on his hands. He’s clearly concerned, and is on the verge of tears.  
Futaba finds nothing, but does check if his breathing and pulse is okay.  
“Why’d it have to be so sudden..?” she muttered while checking Akira’s hand for a pulse, and listening to his breathing. His pulse was a little bit slow, but it was fine according to Futaba, and for breathing, it was also just slowed, and a little shortened.  
“Ryuji, we should let him rest for the night, and just let Mona deal with things for now.”  
“Alright,” Ryuji sighed, “I’m assuming that the others aren’t coming back here,”  
“Yeah, they texted me saying that Takemi is pretty busy right now, and won’t be available until Sunday, so not until the end of the week.”  
“Now that’s just wrong.”  
Note: i have literally no medical experience with this crap and im way too lazy to google it so dont mind me

  
Chapter 4: SMS ; both texts and “save my soul” :^)  
  
Ryuji stares at his phone, waiting for a text from Futaba. He’s been doing this for an hour. It’s 9:04am and the others (besides Futaba of course) are at school. He’s so concerned and worried about him, to the point where Akira would say, “Don’t worry about me, please…”  
There was no way that Ryuji would leave Akira like that. He was his best friend, and they cared about each other.  
Eventually, the text came from Futaba.  
Futaba: U can come over rn, he’s doing better  
Ryuji: aight, i’ll be over in a bit, should i bring anything?  
Futaba: Nah, it’s fine, but if you want you could maybe bring those sports drinks? I think akira likes em  
Ryuji: i’ll be there soon  
  
And so Ryuji left for Café LeBlanc, bringing a bag of already chilled sports drinks. He ran a bit, but his knee started aching, so he just speed-walked the rest of the way. Futaba waits outside like she usually does, and greets Ryuji as soon as he gets there. Now they go upstairs, seeing Akira sitting up with a face that looks like it’s been through hell.  
“Dude, are you okay?”  
Akira doesn’t even glance at the two, he just stares at his blanket.  
“Akira?”  
“I-i’ll give you two some space?” Futaba says as she falls down the steps backwards. “EEEEP!”  
“...”  
“Akira, talk to me, please?”  
“..”  
“Akira!” Ryuji yells loudly, enough to break Akira from his ‘trance’.  
  
“H-huh?”  
“Oh thank god…”  
Ryuji walks towards Akira and looks him in the eyes,  
“Are you okay?”  
“Y-yeah. I’m good…” Akira replies weakly. Then, Ryuji makes eye contact once again.  
“Here, you should stay hydrated,” and Ryuji hands Akira a bottle of the sports drink.  
“Thanks,”

  
Chapter 5: Recovery  
  
A few mornings later.  
  
Akira wakes to the sight of Ryuji sitting on the couch.  
“H-huh? Ryuji?”  
“Mornin’. You feelin’ any better?”  
“Y-yeah.”  
“That’s good. Well, I’m staying here with you until you’re completely better.”  
“O-oh, uh. Okay.”

Ryuji gets up and moves over to Akira’s futon, and sits down, he sighs, and stares at the floor. Akira sits up and moves behind Ryuji.  
“Hm?” Ryuji notices, but doesn’t pay it any mind until Akira wraps his arms around Ryuji’s torso.  
“Akira? W-what are you doing?” Ryuji’s face turns pink. Akira stays silent, and just smiles into his back, Ryuji feeling the warmth of his breath on his back, which he was not used to at all, and he got goosebumps immediately.  
“Dude.”  
“What?”  
“Why are you getting so intimate? A-are you?”  
Akira suddenly realizes what he’s doing, and pulls himself back to his original position, with his face completely red. Akira’s mind is just filled with the words: god dammit. Why did I do this? Am I? GOD DAMMIT WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!?  
“I- uh--”  
Ryuji gets up, and walks to the couch.  
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me!”  
“It’s fine, but I just-- I don’t know.”  
Akira puts his hand on his face, sighing into his palm.  
“I didn’t mean for this to happen…”

“Are you okay with me..?”  
  
“...”

Those words hurt Ryuji. Of course he was okay with Akira being y’know, but toward him? It felt incredibly weird. He always kinda shoved it in people’s faces that he was super into girls, but now, he just felt weird. He didn’t know what to think. He didn’t know how to feel. Confusion was everywhere.  
“Ryuji please, just tell me.”

“Akira, of course I’m okay with you, but y’know!”  
“Y’know what!?”

Chapter 6: hehehhehehehehhehehehehhe

“I-i’m sorry,” was all that Akira could say. He felt absolutely terrible after he had revealed his sexuality, unintentionally mind you; to his very straight best friend. Even though Ryuji very clearly accepted that Akira was gay, Akira still worried a whole ton about it. What if he's lying? Is our friendship over? Are we gonna be-- No, that couldn't be the case, right?

The next day.  
Ryuji came over again today. Akira honestly didn't expect for him to be there, considering what happened yesterday. He was almost grateful for it, but another part of him wanted to be away from Ryuji, almost entirely.

Akira starts up the conversation, “H-hey, about yesterday…”  
“Akira, it’s fine, I just didn't expect it.”  
“I still wanna talk to you about it,”  
“So?”  
“...are we still friends?”

“W-well yeah,”  
Akira sighs, and falls over on his bed, on the verge of tears because the mood was that tense.  
“You can go if you want…”  
“No no! It's fine. Y’know, I was thinking a lot about yesterday. I gotta say, I kinda liked that,”  
“You did..?”  
“Kinda! I've never really gotten hugged from anyone besides my mom; it just felt nice I guess,”  
Akira felt a bit relieved to hear that, he stopped preventing himself from shedding a tear, and he did. Ryuji smiled a little bit,  
“Do you wanna do that again? I mean--”  
Ryuji clearly had no idea what he was doing, but Akira happily went along with it.  
“O-okay! Come over here then?”  
And so Ryuji did, sitting at the edge of Akira’s futon, Akira moving to sit right behind him, up close and personal. Akira then wrapped his arms around Ryuji’s torso just like he did the previous day.  
Ryuji felt so warm in Akira’s arms, he didn't want to let go, ever.

Ryuji adored Akira's arms around him, he'd never been given hugs of ‘affection’ by anyone other than his mom, so it was a welcome change, but still. He's still really surprised that Akira is the one doing it, and not some girl or something. It was a Last Surprise for him. Bad pun aside, he still loved it, and his mind was made up, he truly does care for, and loves Akira. He had never thought that he would fall for his best friend, but it happened, and it was probably the best thing that had ever happened to the two of them, besides meeting in the first place, which objectively was the best thing.  
Eventually the two stopped hugging, but not for long, and instead laid down together, their legs tangled with one another. They fell asleep in each other's arms, and it was probably one of the worst sleeps they had ever slept, but who the hell cares, it was love.

Chapter 7: Kiss kiss fall in love I MEAN WHAT

Morning.

Akira wakes up, feeling pretty tired, but feels good for the most part. He realizes that Ryuji is still hugging him, and is still sleeping, so it sucks that Akira doesn't want to wake up Ryuji, but as a resolution, he just goes back to sleep for a bit.

After that ‘bit’, Ryuji wakes up, and also waking Akira in the process,  
“Mornin’!”  
“Heh, morning,”  
“Last night sure was something. But it was a good something.”  
“Well that's a way of putting it~”  
“So, what does this make us?”  
“Anything you want it to be, Ryuji,”  
“S-so uh, are we b-boyfriends now?”  
Ryuji’s face turns red, as he speaks the words he never would have thought to say unless they were in different circumstances. Akira hides his face in a pillow for a moment, and then just nods his head, yes.  
Akira sits up with Ryuji, and suddenly presses his lips on Ryuji's, it's cliche, but seriously, who the hell would care at this point? Ryuji is surprised, but quickly gets real into it, tasting Akira's lips, and puts his hand on Akira's cheek. They pulled out of it a few seconds later.  
Smiles covered both of their faces; the faces that showed that they were just so in love and stuff like that. Akira giggled quite a bit afterward, Ryuji did too.  
“Akira, you don't even know how happy I am right now,”  
“Of course I do, you do realize that the thing that I've been wanting for months now has finally happened..?”  
“You've been crushing on me for months? Oh man, haha!”  
“Is that a bad thing?” Akira laughed against Ryuji's chest.  
“Of course not,”  
“Good,”

The mood, was of course ruined suddenly by Morgana, who had to sleep on the couch that night.  
“What the heck were you two doing last night though!? What do you even see in this idiot, Akira? Because of him I couldn't sleep well!”  
“Oh you shut the hell up you stupid cat!”  
“I am NOT a cat!”  
“Both of you stop it. Especially you, Morgana, because you're gonna have to get used to me and Ryuji sleeping together,”  
Both Ryuji and Morgana are surprised at Akira's reaction, Ryuji is surprised in a pretty good way, while Morgana is surprised, in a well, an agitated way.  
“You're gonna let this imbecile steal my spot that I've been sleeping in this whole time?”  
“Morgana, what did I just say?”  
Akira has never been this harsh to Morgana, like ever, so neither of them were expecting that. At all.  
“Ugh, fine! Just let me know when he's coming over and I'll go over to Ann's!”  
“Alright then, it's a deal,”

“Well, that escalated quickly,” Ryuji comments.  
“It's a good thing though, right?”  
“Well yeah, anyway, what do you wanna do?”  
Akira thinks for a moment,  
“Oh shit! Dr. Takemi is coming over! The others don't know that I'm like perfectly fine now--”  
“Uh, don't worry, I'll let them know,” Ryuji replies, grabbing his phone from the ground.  
He gets in the Phantom Thief chat.  
Ryuji: Oh, btw, quick update on Akira. He's doing way better, and Dr. Takemi doesn't need to come over.

Then a whole bunch of replies come in;  
Makoto: That's good! Should we come over?  
Ann: Great! But yeah we should!  
Yusuke: It's good to know that he is well. I will be over as soon as I can.  
Haru: I'm on my way now!  
Futaba: k I'm heading over to Leblanc now :V  
Ryuji: okay then

“They're coming over, but I think we have time to just chill or whatever,”  
“They are? Well shit, I wasn't planning for this.”  
“Are you implying that you don't want them to find out about us?”  
“Well yeah…”  
“It'll be fine?”  
“Well, I guess for now we'll just do random stuff,”  
“Hm, how about video games?”  
“Nah, how bout we just sit here and do stuff,”  
“So like what we were doing?”  
“Yeah kinda,”  
“Okay then!”

And they kissed, cuddled, and talked about random shit while they waited for the group. Even though Futaba said she would be leaving then, she probably was just stalling, but she did come over before everyone else, and in the middle of Akira and Ryuji cuddling.  
Futaba shouted “Hey guys!” while walking up the steps, and she ended up walking in on the two.  
“Oh uh, uhmm… Okay then! You guys do you! I'll be downstairs!” She then walked down the stairs backwards, and apparently she had mastered the art of walking down stairs backwards because she didn't fall over, but either way, that was embarrassing for all three of them.  
“........”  
“........”  
“Well then, uh…..”  
“Yeah…”

The two of them got up moments later, and got dressed, then walked downstairs to sit down at the booth where Futaba was sitting. Of course Akira and Ryuji sat next to each other.  
“So you two are… y’know?” Futaba asks.  
“Well, uh, yeah,” Ryuji replies.  
“That's honestly really surprising considering how Ryuji acts so straight all the time!”  
“That just sounds wrong,”  
“How else am I supposed to word it?”  
“I dunno, but either way, don't tell the others, okay?”  
“You got it, I won't say a single word,”  
“Thanks,”

Eventually, the whole gang arrived at LeBlanc.

Chapter 8: The Recovery Meeting

The gang walked through LeBlanc’s entrance one by one, and took their respective seats, each nodding toward Sojiro.  
“Alright then, I'll be heading out now. Don't mess up the store,”  
“Alright,” Ryuji said.

“Well then, Akira? How are you feeling?” Makoto asked.  
“I'm great, hell, I'm feeling better than I did before I got real fatigued!”  
“That's good,but why weren't you two at school today?”  
“Oh uh, we just stayed home just in case,”  
“Are you lying? Or did you two just use Akira's sickness as a tool to slack off?”  
“No, of course not. We haven't even left the cafe today,”  
Futaba adds, “Yeah, I didn't see them when I was looking out my window the whole day,”  
“Hmm,”

For no reason, Akira suddenly puts his hand on top of Ryuji’s, trying to be as subtle as possible while in front of his teammates. He sneaks in a smile toward Ryuji for a split second before Ann cuts in,  
“What are you two doing..?”  
“Nothing, why?”  
Ann just looks at their hands without giving hints to the others,  
“Oh, no reason, carry on!”  
Akira just looks at Ryuji for a second before moving his hand on top of the table.  
“So, what's been going on?” Makoto asks, “I’d like for you to explain,”  
“Why?”  
“I would just like to know what you've been doing while we're at school! That's all,”  
“There's really nothing much, just video games, chilling, and shit like that,”  
Akira's voice sounded faintly suspicious, but Makoto decided to believe it.  
“Hm,”  
“What, you think we were doin’ something else?”  
“No, of course not!”

There was an awkward silence for a while, until Haru decided to comment,  
“Well, at least you’re okay now!”

Makoto butts in once again, “So, what do you guys wanna do now?”  
More silence, then Akira responds,  
“I wanna sleep, I barely got any last night to be honest,”  
“That's not what I meant!”  
“Eh, it's what I wanna do!”  
Ryuji adds, “Same here,”

“Well this is uneventful! I thought we would be celebrating, and actually DOING something, such as Mementos!”

Shit, Akira completely forgot about Mementos, but he still really wants to sleep.  
“Can't that wait until tomorrow? I'm too tired to actually be efficient…”  
Now Akira was just whining,  
“Ugh, fine. But we WILL do it tomorrow, or else,”  
“Well, I suppose we should get going,” Yusuke says, already leaving the store.  
“Alright then, let's go,” Ann replies.

Everyone is out the door except Futaba,  
“You leaving Ryuji?”  
“Nah, I'm gonna stay here again tonight,”  
“Alright then you two,” then she says in a sarcastic voice, “Have fun~”  
“Pfft, don't say that,”  
Then Akira says in a sarcastic voice, “Oh come on, you don't want to?”  
“Welp, I'm off! Byee!”

Akira laughs while Ryuji is super embarrassed,  
“Dude, you're insane,” Ryuji laughed, hugging Akira.  
“Why?”  
“You know why,” Ryuji keeps laughing.  
“Well, how about we go upstairs?” Akira asked with a wink.  
“Oh my god-- stop--”  
“Hah, no,”

The couple went upstairs just because they actually were tired as fuck, but of course, they didn't go to sleep right away.

The first thing that Ryuji says is, “God, I love you,”

Akira honestly didn't expect for Ryuji to say that so suddenly, but nonetheless, his whole face was covered with a smile,  
“I love you too,”

Chapter 9: Warmth

The pair sat down on the futon, then held each other in a warm embrace. Akira was absolutely in love with Ryuji, and how he felt, how he smelled even, how he looked, he was in love with every part of Ryuji.  
It was the same way for Ryuji. The smell of coffee was welcoming, and smelt like home, he plain thought that Akira was adorable, and hot, and he thought that Akira was perfect, even if he was a guy.

They held each other for minutes, enjoying every second of it, of course they threw in some kisses, “I love you”s, and more, including some seductive whispering, which Ryuji had no idea how to do, but still tried his best, which Akira appreciated.  
When they finally laid down, Akira ended up on top of Ryuji, of course still hugging, kissing, cuddling… but, Akira wanted to do something different.

Akira had his eyes on Ryuji’s neck. At the point where Ryuji was completely un-expecting of what was going to happen, Akira started to kiss Ryuji’s neck, which caused him to let out a moan.  
Akira smirked, and continued doing it, in hopes of getting more sounds out of Ryuji.  
Every few moments Ryuji either moaned, gasped, groaned or whatever animal noise came out of his mouth.  
Akira could feel Ryuji getting, dare he say, hard.  
Akira snickered, to Ryuji's embarrassment,  
“D-dude,”  
“Yes?”  
“U-uh, don't stop, that felt really g-good--”  
And so Akira continued before Ryuji even had a chance to finish his sentence.  
It was like Akira was drunk from Ryuji's moaning, so he started to get more intimate. He decided to suddenly palm Ryuji’s you know what.  
More moaning came after that, this time more frequently, and more intense.  
“Aa-Akira, don't stop please--”  
“Heh, why would I?”  
“I-i don't know..!”

Akira stopped moments before what would be Ryuji's ‘climax’, so they wouldn't make a mess, but Akira did end up grinding on Ryuji's leg, and their privates, so they didn't end up doing the whole thing, but it was enough for a first time.  
Ryuji and Akira were both a bit out of breath, but they still remained; Akira's head resting on Ryuji's chest, and just well, cuddling.  
Akira whispered, “I love you so much,” moments before the two fell asleep, this time, this sleep was much better, and it was insanely comfortable, somehow.

Morning

Akira's alarm went off, waking the two, whom were still intertwined.

“Good morning,” Akira yawned before giving Ryuji a kiss on the forehead.  
“Mornin’,” Ryuji sighed while beginning to blush.  
“Well, today we’re going back to school, we’d better get ready.”  
“Aw, come on… we can just say that you're feeling bad again…”  
“Ryuji, you know that I'd do anything to stay with you, and you alone, but what about us going to Mementos? Makoto will kill us if we don't go,”  
Ryuji sighs, “I guess you're right, besides, we have lunch for during school,”  
“Ah, speaking of lunch, do you want to share a lunch? I can ask Sojiro for some curry!”  
“Aw man, that’d be great!”  
“Alrighty then~ Let's get ready.”  
And so the two did, however unlike most times they've gotten ready “together,” this time, they put no boundaries between each other.

A few minutes later…

“Hey Sojiro-san, could we have some curry for lunch at school? No reason why,”  
“Uh, yeah sure, I'll put it in a Tupperware for you,”  
“Thanks!”

And now Ryuji and Akira have their curry lunch, to share on the rooftop, where nobody is there, most likely.

On the train…  
Akira is resting his head on Ryuji's shoulder, and Ryuji feels slightly uncomfortable since they're in public, but might as well get over it, right..? Anyway, Ryuji stays awake and alert the whole two train rides while Akira rested for a little bit, and was in a daze.

At school…  
Akira and Ryuji walk down the street to the Shujin gates, keeping the flirting subtle, but it was still there.  
When they got to their classes, they winked at each other, and said bye for now.

Right before lunch started, Ann turned around to Akira and striked up a conversation.  
“So, what's up?”  
“Oh nothing much,”  
“You've been hanging out with Ryuji a real lot lately, is there something going on?”  
“Of course not,”  
“Hm, okay, cya!”  
“See you after school,”

And now Akira walks to where Ryuji usually hangs out to meet with Akira, and then walks with him up to the rooftop.  
“Well, here ya go,” Akira says as he sets down the tupperware filled with curry.  
“Thanks,” Ryuji says sincerely.  
The two just sit on the floor near the railing on the roof, flirting with each other, venting to each other, and just good ol’ conversation.  
After they finish the curry together, they just lean on each other, which was surprisingly comfortable considering that not just one person was doing it. Either way, they were happy.  
Moments before they had to go back to class, Ryuji grabbed Akira's hand and held it tight, he held it the entire time going back to class, and Akira had a faint smile on his face. Back in class, all Akira could think about was Ryuji, and vice-versa.

After school, Shibuya Station.  
“Alrighty then, let's head out,” Akira ordered,  
They all nod as they enter the metaverse, immediately entering the station right after.  
They decided to go to the deepest floor so they could make more progress. Ryuji, Haru, and Morgana were on the main team with Akira. Noir for utility, Mona for healing, and Skull for brute strength, stat buffs and debuffs, and well, he's Akira's boyfriend.  
During battle, Ryuji did significantly better than before, snapping Akira out of status effects more often, and he did more critical hits, which everyone is pleased about, but is also confused about this sudden change.  
This continued until Ryuji's leg started to ache, so Akira insisted that they go back for now.

Chapter 9: Confession with a side of *bloosh*  
“Joker, I can keep going!”  
“Skull, you can’t just keep fighting with your leg!”  
“Fine…”

Oracle butts in, “Joker, we’re here to make a lot of progress! Just switch him out with Queen or something!”  
“Hell no, I’m not fighting without Skull, so if you guys want to fight, I’m not joining you!”  
“Joker! You’re our leader! We need you to order us!”  
“Then I order you to fight without me!”  
“Tch, fine. Alright then, Haru, Makoto, Ann, Yusuke, you fight!”

In the “Mona-mobile”

“Well, thanks I guess,”  
“‘Course,” Joker replied, resting his hand on Skull’s. “I’ve been thinking, about us, and well, I kind of want to tell the others,”  
“Huh? I thought you didn’t want them to find out, although they are bound to find out eventually,”  
“That’s why I want to tell them,”  
“Well, when should we...?”  
“Once we’re done here, that should give us enough time to prepare ourselves,”  
“Alrighty then…”

The team finishes the fight, and gets back in the bus. They see Skull leaning on Joker.

“Hmm,” Panther whispers to Queen, “You think there’s something going on between those two?”  
“Perhaps,” Queen replies, “Y’know, now that I think about it, hasn’t Skull been staying over at LeBlanc for the past week?”  
“I think so,”  
“So what do you think is going on?”  
“I have no idea,”

There is now silence, but eventually the team gets to the “Down” train thing, and the next stop is actually the Rest Area, conveniently. The team exists the bus, and they all sit down, and and of course, Skull ends up leaning on Joker, once again.  
Panther asks to Skull and Joker, “Hey, are you two okay? You guys have kinda been clinging non-stop to each other. Is everything fine?”  
Joker responds since Skull’s leg hurts real bad now. “Everything’s fine, you’re just worrying too muc--”  
“You even ditched fighting because of him! You’ve never done that before!”  
Joker sighs, “Fine, you caught us,” Oracle gives the two a kind of surprised look, “You’re gonna tell them..?” she mutters.  
Joker nods, “But I’m not gonna tell you until we get outta here, it’s not the right mood, I guess.”

And so they got up to the entrance of Mementoes, and exited, immediately heading to LeBlanc afterwards.  
Giving Sojiro a nod, they prepare for an unplanned meeting.  
“So, what’s going on?” Makoto asks sternly.  
Akira sighs, “Look, uh, this is hard to explain…”  
“Well just tell us! If it’s that important to disrupt a mission, then we must know!”  
  
Ryuji hides his face, as it was turning red just from sheer pressure.  
Akira sighs once more, “Ryuji and I are… well,”  
“Are well, what?!” Ann yells.  
Akira looks away, and continues, “We’re dating.”  
  
There’s an awkward silence, then Futaba shouts, “Well, now that THAT’S over with, any comments? Questions? Ehh..?”  
“Hmm, Futaba. Did you know about this?” Makoto asks.  
“Maybe!”  
“How come they only told you and not us?”  
“They didn’t tell me, I may or may not have walked in on them hugging- a lot.”  
“O-oh kay then,”  
“Well then, you two can do your thing in front of us now if you want-”

Ryuji interrupts with, “Yeah yeah, we know,” Akira laughs a bit at that, very casually resting his hand on Ryuji’s shoulder. Ryuji ends up smiling, and again, leans on Akira.

“Well this is getting weird! I’m outta here!” Futaba yells, running out of the café.  
“I suppose we all should be going now,” Makoto announces, and the others nod, besides the couple, who ended up going upstairs before Makoto proposed to leave.

LeBlanc Attic

“Well, we did it,” Ryuji said.  
“Heh, yep,” Akira replied, “Anyway, what do you wanna do tonight?”  
“Hmm, how about the baths?”  
“Alrighty~”  
  
Chapter 10: Hon hon hon ;^)

At the baths…  
Akira and Ryuji sit in the steamy bath, sweating because of how warm it is. They make every effort to be subtle about their relationship, but they can’t help but hold hands, rest their heads on each other’s shoulders, and kiss every few minutes. Luckily they were alone, surprisingly.  
Akira snuck a hand onto Ryuji's inner thigh, making the other get a shiver down their spine, and turning even more red than they once were.  
“H-hey, not in here--!” Ryuji whispered loudly.  
“Hm? Why not?” Akira whispered back while moving in a position where he could nip at Ryuji's ear.  
“I-I, I dunno… other than the fact that this is a public place?”  
“Pfft, of course we aren't gonna actually do it here, we’ll go to the attic for that,” Akira replied with a wink.

An hour later…  
Ryuji and Akira were both changing back into their regular clothes,  
“Man, how'd we last in that bath so long? I usually can't even stand half hour!” Ryuji commented.  
“Heh,” Akira giggled.  
“Well, how bout we get outta here?”  
Akira nods as they exit the facility, then to enter Cafe LeBlanc.  
“There you are, I was waiting for you to get back before I locked up,” Sojiro welcomed, originally not noticing Ryuji, then he says, “Oh, Sakamoto. Isn't the last train coming soon?”  
“Nah, it’s fine. I'll stay here tonight,”  
“Alright then, don't make a mess,”  
“Okay chief!”

Akira and Ryuji walked up the stairs, each creaking very loudly.  
“There you ar-- eee….” Morgana purred, “Oh come on, Ryuji’s staying over again?”  
“Yep, and there's nothing you can do about it, also I’d advise you to leave, just a little warning…”  
“Well, I'll go ahead and go out for a walk the whole night, bye,”  
“See you,”

The couple had already moved to the futon, Ryuji laying down, Akira laying on top of him.  
“So… what do you wanna do?” Akira asked with a smirk.  
“Whatever you want,”  
Akira snickers as he quickly moves his lips to Ryuji's earlobe, nipping at it every few seconds, which in return, Ryuji moaned softly.  
Akira's tongue inches down the earlobe until he gets to Ryuji's neck, kissing and rubbing it, still getting some moans from Ryuji, or at least whatever animal sounds came from his mouth.  
Akira suddenly snuck his hand under Ryuji's shirt, touching Ryuji's abs, and caressing them lightly.  
Akira smirked, and whispered, “You are so fucking hot, you know that right?”  
“D-dude--” Ryuji mutters out, then suddenly gets touched in all the right places. Akira, with his other hand, starts palming Ryuji's thing, and he gasps, way louder than he did before.  
Akira's main goal tonight is to give Ryuji the most pleasure he has ever experienced in his life, and Akira was certainly doing so, as he continued kissing Ryuji on his shoulders, neck, and ear.  
“Hmm, how about we get these off…” Akira commented, directing attention to their shirts.  
Ryuji nodded in a daze, as he took off his (and Akira's) shirt.  
The feeling of their chests touching, skin to skin, absolutely no boundaries besides their pants, felt so right.  
Because Ryuji was now shirtless, obviously Akira would start going for Ryuji's chest to shower with kisses.

This went on for a few moments until Ryuji warned, “A-Akira,” he moaned, interrupting his sentence, of course, “I-I'm--”  
And at that moment, Ryuji expected Akira to stop, but he didn't.  
“D-dude-- Aah..! Seriously..!”  
“Do it,”  
“Aahh- w-what? Y-you want me t-to..?” Ryuji continued moaning quietly until he finally reached his climax, gasping and moaning as loud as ever.  
Akira collapsed onto his chest even though he wasn't the receiver of it, then he began laughing into Ryuji's chest.  
“i love you,” were the only words that came out of Akira's mouth for the rest of that night.

Chapter 11: The Plot gets Serious

The next morning.

Ryuji wakes up feeling disgusting, with a gross warmth in his pants, from last night.  
He sighs, and he gets up out of bed, trying to not wake Akira. He succeeds. He goes downstairs to the bathroom to clean up himself, and then heads back upstairs to borrow a uniform from Akira since he didn't bring his own.  
Shortly, Akira woke up, and also got dressed pretty quickly.  
A minute later, they head for the train, hand in hand.

At school.

“Ugh, I frickin’ hate school,” Ryuji groans, while slouching on Akira,  
“I do too, but it's what we gotta do,”  
“Can't we just drop out so we can be together?”  
“Ryuji, that'd make us seem even more like delinquents,”  
Ryuji sighs, “I guess you're right. Besides, I really should graduate so I can take care of my mom…”  
“Speaking of, have you told her about us?”  
“Yeah, she's really supportive too, which is nice,”  
Their conversation is interrupted by people mumbling about no one else but them.  
“What's going on on between them?”  
“Are they gay?! Holy shit I've gotta take a pic of this!”  
“So the juvenile delinquents are together? How fitting! Pfft.”  
“Holding hands? In my Christian server? Pfft, sorry. I just had to.”  
“Ew, the two delinquents are gay? That's gross,”

Akira starts looking around as his environment freezes,  
There's a deathly pain in his head  
I am thou, thou art I,

Will you just stand there and play the victim card?

Or will you stand for yourself and Ryuji?

“N-no, I-” Akira yells in so much pain that he falls to the ground.

Why will you not take thou revenge?

Is that truly what you want?

“H-how am I supposed to kno-” another scream of agonizing pain comes from Akira.

Why do you resist the rebellion that rests within you?!

You know you cannot hide from these imbeciles, so why don't you stand up for yourself!?

If you wish to end this damned contract of rebellion, and freedom, fine! Do what thou desires, Just be warned, you will be getting rid of me if you decide to do so.

The last yell of agony comes from Akira, as soon as it ends, time unfreezes, and he is still on the ground, breathing heavily.  
“A-Akira! Are you okay!?” Ryuji yells in legitimate concern.  
Akira is holding his head tight, staring at the emptiness of this mind,  
“If you wish to end this damned contract of rebellion and freedom, fine!”  
What did Arsene mean by that?  
Wouldn't that be- death?  
No, of course not… right?  
Akira regains focus, gets up immediately, and runs away from school.  
“A-Akira wait!!” Ryuji shouts while he runs a few steps outside the school gates. He then sighs, and heads back in the gates.

Akira's seat in class is empty. He didn't come back to school. He’s not even texting Ryuji in class.

After school.  
Ann meets up with Ryuji by the stairwell.  
“Where was Akira today? He's not sick again, is he?”  
“No… he ran home when we were…” Ryuji sighed heavily. “Never mind. Just, he ran home.”  
“Oh okay, well, see you tomorrow!”  
“Bye,”

Cafe Leblanc  
Akira is hanging a noose to one of the roof supports, crying heavily.

He hears a bell ring downstairs. It was Ryuji.  
“Hey Akira, I'm coming upstairs,”  
All Ryuji hears is the loud sound of crying, and sniffling.  
“Akira? What's wron-” The first thing that Ryuji sees is the noose.  
“D-dude no! Nononono- Akira!” Ryuji yells while running up the stairs and at record pace pushes Akira onto the futon, hugging him extremely tight.  
“Akira please don't please please please… don't do this to me please-” Ryuji cries, “Why would you want to? What happened to you this morning? Akira please tell me…”  
Akira answers in one word, “Arsene,”  
“W-what? A-Arsene? You're kidding, r-right!?” Ryuji whimpered, “Akira just please talk to me..! I'm worried about you-”  
“I'm not kidding…” Akira's voice was almost inaudible because of how hard he was crying, “I want to end my contract, and in order to do that, I must die-”  
“AKIRA NO! Akira please!! God, please don't I swear..!” Ryuji's voice was rough, “Please tell me you won't do this..! I don't want to lose you, Akira-”  
Akira's head falls almost limp.  
“Akira! Please say something!!” Ryuji is crying more than he has ever cried before, and it hurts, so bad.  
“Ryuji..?”  
“What? Please tell me--”  
“I-I love you so much…”  
Ryuji pulls a bit out of the hug, to give Akira a long, passionate kiss right on the lips.  
“T-thanks, Ryuji…” Akira whimpered, “Please, s-stay with me, and d-don't leave my side…”  
“Of course, Akira, anything for you,” Ryuji replied softly.  
Akira smiled slightly.

After the predicament, all they did was hold each other in a warm embrace, not letting go the entire time.  
Before they fell asleep, Ryuji whispered, “Good night Akira,” and smiled.  
  
Chapter 12: Beatings

“Mornin’ Akira. Are you going to school?”  
“I'll go today if you're going,”  
“Well, let's get ready I suppose,”  
“Alright…”

They got ready and they're heading to school.  
On the way, they kept hearing so many insults about them,  
“They're faggots,”  
“Do you wanna mess with em’? I'm sure they'll get suspended if we do!”  
“Yeah! We don't need gays like that at our school.”  
Akira heard them clearly, and glares at them for a moment before slouching on Ryuji for comfort.  
“You okay?”  
“Yeah, it's just that people like those get on my nerves, and they really do sound serious…”  
“Don't worry about it, if you get hurt or anything by them I won't be afraid to step  
in,”  
“Thanks Ryuji,” Akira sighed while putting his hand on Ryuji's.  
“Now they’re holdin’ hands? You're kidding!”  
“Fuck them! They don't belong here.”  
“They're just faggots I say!”

School.  
“Ryuji?”  
“Yeah?”  
“If we get bullied or whatever, and we defeat them, what would happen to us? Wouldn't we be considered even more delinquent?”  
“Let's not think about the bad things, Akira,” Ryuji commented while grabbing a hold of Akira's hand, “Let's just hope that the future is bright for us,”  
Akira nods.  
As soon as the two reach the second floor, they say goodbye to each other, Akira clearly not looking forward to class at all.  
Before class actually started, the people sitting next to him (besides Ann of course,) kept teasing him constantly. One kid even punched him in the back of the neck, causing Akira's face to hit the desk, making his nose bleed.  
Akira put up the textbook to where someone would think that he was reading it, so he decided to just put his head down and try to sleep, but of course, his classmates continued to beat him up; both physically, and mentally.  
The teacher did end up catching him sleeping, so they went over to Akira and lifted his head, revealing the minor bruising, and the nose bleed. The teacher was surprised and ended up keeping all of the students after class except for of course, Akira.  
When Akira met up with Ryuji, of course Ryuji looked super surprised,  
“Who the hell did this to you!?” He yelled as quietly as he could.  
“Everyone in class except Ann and Mishima…”  
“What!? Okay we need to have you switch classes, pronto.” Ryuji ordered, “Let's head to the faculty office,”  
“Alright…”

Faculty office.  
“You want Kurusu-kun to switch classes because-- oohhh. I see,” Kawakami notes, “Your face, Kurusu, what happened?”  
“Everyone around me just beat me up and now I look like this,”  
“Hmm, why are you getting this treatment?”  
“M-me and Ryuji are d-dating,”  
“Oh? Hmm, I think I can have Ryuji switch into your class, but not vice versa.”  
“Alright… thanks!”  
“No problem. Now then, please stay out of trouble. We don't want to see you looking like this,”  
“Okay, bye..!”

Ryuji and Akira walk out of the Faculty Office and then head to this time, Ryuji's home!  
“Ah, this is nice!” Akira compliments.  
“Well, welcome to my home! Uh, it’s yours too I suppose,”  
“Thanks~”  
“Yep,”

Akira and Ryuji go to the loveseat, ironically, and start cuddling for no apparent reason, probably just because of today and how Akira got y’know.  
“I'm really sorry for what happened to you today, I wish I could have done something,”  
“Don't worry, Ryuji. It's fine,”  
Ryuji sighs, and runs his fingers through Akira's hair.  
“Either way, I know this is like the 5th time, but just; thank you for everything, Ryuji…”  
Ryuji kisses Akira's forehead, and hugs him tight. Akira smiles, and accepts the kiss and hug with open arms, literally.  
Ryuji continues with the hug, but asks something strange, “Are you still gonna be going to school?”  
“Only when you are,”  
“So if I'm sick or- I get suspended or something,” Ryuji ponders, “You'll stay with me under any circumstances?”  
“Ryuji, of course… didn't we promise to not leave each other's sides?”  
“Yeah,” Ryuji sighed, “Well, what do ya wanna do?”  
“I just wanna stay like this, it's so comfortable,”  
“Alrighty,”  
Akira smiled under Ryuji's neck.  
Hours passed, and the two slept right where they were before.

The next morning, school.  
Akira’s face was covered by his arms, people were still messing with them. Ryuji put his hand on Akira's shoulder; that caused Akira to sit up and lean into Ryuji.  
This revealed Akira's even more beat up face; it was even more beat up than Ryuji's face at that time.

After class, Kawakami had called Ryuji to the faculty office, leaving Akira alone in the hallway.  
Some group decided to surround Akira in the second floor hallway, showering him like an ice cold shower with insults, and also punching his face, kicking his shins, stepping on his hands when he was on the floor, it was insane. Akira was left on the floor, bruises everywhere, blood dripping from his face, and tears streaming from his eyes. Pain was everywhere, he felt numb inside.

When Ryuji finally exited the Faculty Office, he spotted Akira, and ran to him,  
“Are you okay!? Akira--”  
“I-I'm,” Akira coughed, “I-I'm fine-”  
Ryuji helped Akira stand, and helped him get home.  
Cafè Leblanc  
Akira laid down on the futon, not moving a muscle.  
“Are you okay, Akira?”  
“I'm fine…”  
“From now on, we will not leave each other's side at all whatsoever,” Ryuji ordered, “I don't want to see you like this,”  
Akira nodded while he decided to get under his sheets.  
“Is it okay if I lay with you? I don't want you to hurt,”  
“It hurts so bad, Ryuji--” Akira muttered.  
“I'll go grab some pain killers,”  
Akira's whole body is shaking, mostly out of pain, but there was some other emotion crammed in there.

Chapter 14: Bruised

Akira and Ryuji stayed home from school the next day. Ryuji's reason was to keep Akira safe, and out of harms way, Akira's was because of Ryuji. Akira was legitimately worried about what could happen to Ryuji after what happened to himself.  
Akira wasn't feeling much better. His whole body ached, and he couldn't move.  
Akira's phone buzzed, so Ryuji decided to check it. It was the Phantom Thief chat.  
Makoto: How about we head to Mementos after school?  
Ann: Sounds good to me!  
Akira: This is Ryuji, so uh, yeah me and Akira can't.  
Makoto: Why not?  
Akira: Akira's all beat up and I don't want him moving.  
Ann: Well why can't you come?  
Akira: We made a promise to not leave each other, I refuse to break that.  
Futaba: you've gotta be kidding, that's actually really cute tho :V  
Makoto: Well, we’ll still be coming over if that's okay.  
Akira: Fine.

Ryuji puts down the phone, groaning loudly. “Ugh, they're coming over,”  
“S-shit, we gotta take down that-”  
“Oh shit-- the noose..! We didn't take that down..!”  
Ryuji scrambles to take it down as fast as he can, and he succeeds. He throws the rope into a box and puts all sorts of things on top of it.  
“T-thanks,”  
“Y-yeah,”

The two hear a bell ring from downstairs. It was probably Futaba.  
“Hey guys!” She yelled as she ran up the stairs, “How's Akira?”  
“He's doing okay, but god… it hurts seeing him like this…”  
“I'm sure it does,” Futaba sighs, “I really do feel bad for you two and your situation,”  
At this point, Akira had fallen asleep. Ryuji decided to sit by Akira on the futon. Ryuji rested his hand on Akira's cheek, “Why do people have to be such assholes..?”  
“They just are, and the only thing we can do about it is really to change their hearts,”  
Ryuji sighs, “But just why him..? He's never done anything wrong,”  
“That's just how they are, we can't stop them unless they're in Mementos or something,”  
“Hmm,”  
The bell rings downstairs once more.  
The gang crowds in, immediately coming upstairs.  
“Hello,” Makoto greeted, “What happened to Akira?”  
“H-he keeps getting beat up at school because we're dating,” Ryuji admitted.  
“Hm, why haven't you reported the students? Why are you even here in the first place?”  
“You’re seriously gonna do that now!? Wow, what a friend,”  
“Answer the questions,”  
“Look, we’re scared, and why do you think that I'm here!? Have you been paying any attention!?”  
“Anyway, I still don't get why you can't come to Mementos. Some promise isn't an excuse!”

Akira wakes up due to the commotion Makoto and Ryuji are making.  
“G-guys…”

Ryuji looks back, “Sorry, Akira,”  
“O-oh no it's fine, but Makoto why are you b-bashing on him for actually c-caring about me..?”  
“Because he's using a fake promise as an excuse not to go!”

“Makoto, it’s a real promise… please don't ruin it for us,”  
“It is not a real promise! It is too farfetched!”  
“Shut up,”  
“What did you say..?”  
“S-shut up..!”  
“Gah! Look, we’re going to Mementos whether you like it or not, you don't have to fight,”  
“Fine…”

They enter mementos soon after they left Leblanc.

Joker lays in the back of the Mona-mobile, resting his head on Skull's lap. Skull puts his gloveless hand on Jokers cheek, getting a smile out of both of them.

Every time they encountered a shadow, Mona ended up fighting, so Skull and Joker sat down on the ground temporarily, Joker laying on Ryuji, and in between his legs.

After a while, they found an area where someone's shadow was. It was a normal fight at first, but the shadow noticed Joker and Skull, and took an interest in fighting them. Luckily, the team prevented the shadow from hurting Joker or Skull, and they changed the person’s heart. They left immediately after that. They didn't want to risk Joker getting more hurt.

“Are you okay Akira?” Ryuji asked.  
“Y-yeah, I still feel terrible though…”  
“Well, let's get you back to Leblanc.”  
Akira nodded.

Back at Leblanc, Akira sits down on the futon, then immediately lays down, and sleeps.  
Ryuji also joins with him, lightly hugging him.  
The others leave shortly after.

The couple passes time by just talking to each other about anything really. Personal things, random things, etc. They fall asleep in sync with each other. Nothing could wake them up.

Morning  
Akira and Ryuji stare at the ceiling, not planning to go back to school until Akira’s bruises have cleared up.  
“Akira? Are you feeling any better?”  
“Yeah, but I still feel real achy.”  
“You want me to get you pain-killers or give you a massage or something?”  
“Can you..?”  
“‘Course! I used to give my mom impromptu massages all the time due to her stress,”  
Akira smiled a bit, sitting at the end of the futon. Ryuji moved along with him, sitting behind Akira to give him the massage.  
Ryuji cracked his knuckles, and began to rub Akira’s shoulders, and even though he did it rough, it felt surprisingly good.  
Ryuji continued for a while, until it actually started to hurt, in which then Ryuji just kissed the back of Akira’s neck and a little bit of his back, which got Akira moaning quietly.  
“Heh,” Ryuji snickered, “I’ve got you now,”  
“Y-you do…” Akira moaned quietly.

Chapter 15: Return

Days passed, Akira’s bruises were mostly gone, so he and Ryuji decided to return to school.

Middle of Class.  
“Kurusu Akira, Sakamoto Ryuji, please come to the Faculty Office,” the speakers sounded.

The two get out their seats and start walking to the Faculty Office.  
“What do you think they called us for..?” Ryuji asked.  
“I don’t know, do you think it’s bad..?” Akira replied.  
“I’d hope not…”

They enter, and they see Kawakami waiting for them.  
“Where were you all this week?” she demanded.  
Ryuji answered, “I didn’t want Akira getting more hurt, so we stayed home,”  
“Hm, anyway, how are you doing Kurusu?”

“I-i’m fine, just I’m not doing good emotionally,”  
“I see, do you need to see a therapist perhaps?”  
“N-no, I feel okay when I’m with Ryuji, which is all the time now,”  
“Oh okay, well, please let me know if you need anything. Also don’t feel pressured to not report people because they threaten you, we’ll take care of it. Don’t worry,” Kawakami noted. “If you need to, also feel free to defend yourself.”

Akira nodded, as did Ryuji. They exited, and returned to class.  
Immediately upon sitting down, someone flicked a piece of paper at Akira’s face. It hit hard, and it left a red mark. Akira rested his head in his arms, like he always did ever since the first day they got teased.  
Ryuji on the other hand, grabbed the paper, and flicked it even harder at the student, rolling his eyes and then staring in the distance.

“Gah!” The student gasped, and immediately raised his hand. “Mr! Sakamoto flicked a paper at my face.”  
The teacher glared at Ryuji before walking over to them.  
“Now then, Akira, what’d they do?”  
Akira lifted his head revealing the red mark, “Ryuji just flicked it back at him because this guy,” Akira points to the person who originally flicked it, “Well, they shot it at me, Ryuji’s just trying to protect me I suppose,”  
And to that, the student groans, as he exists the classroom to speak with the teacher.

Ryuji pulls Akira to his side, looking at his face sincerely. Akira looks back at him, face turning pink.

Everyone is staring, but then quickly resumes their work when the teacher walks back in.  
“Well, now that that’s settled, get to work!” The teacher announces.

Class has ended, and Akira and Ryuji head to the courtyard to just chill.  
“I hate this place more than ever now…” Ryuji sighs.  
“Same here,” Akira agrees.

The two talked for a bit before getting interrupted, by the former track team.  
“Well look who it is! The homosexual track team ruiner!” Someone mocks.  
“Why are you here..?” Ryuji asks.  
“What does it look like, poor baby,”  
“S-shut up!”  
“Aw, the faggot is trying to stand up for himself,”  
Akira stays silent, until Ryuji signals him to run to the other side.  
“R-Ryuji, no..!”  
“Akira just go! Let me deal with this!”  
He ran reluctantly to the other end of the courtyard.

“Aww, having your boyfriend abandon you? How sad,”  
“Shut up!” Ryuji yelled.  
“Hah,” someone said, kicking Ryuji's gut.  
Ryuji yelped in pain.  
“Let's show him what he gets for ruining all of our dreams, and being a disgusting person in general,”  
The gang of former track team members nodded, ganging up on Ryuji, doing all they could to harm Ryuji.  
When Akira heard a loud crack and the loudest yell he had ever heard, his instincts made him run in front of the former track team members, and pulled out the knife he used in the Metaverse.  
“H-holy shit! He's got an actual knife! Quick! Someone help!” one called out.  
One snapped a picture of him, another called the police, “Quick! Please! There's a student with a knife trying to threaten us!”

Everything has happened so suddenly that Akira didn't move. He couldn't move.

The police came, and apprehended him. Ryuji kept yelling, “NO!! PLEASE NO..!” With waterfalls of tears falling from his face, while he was being put on a stretcher, and moved on the ambulance.  
All Ryuji did was shake, tremble and whimper. “N-no… Akira..!” He cried. “All he did was try to protect me--”

Akira was put in handcuffs, and his bag and phone were left behind at the school for investigators.  
His face hurt from how much he was crying. He laid limp in the police car, and was taken immediately to Juvenile Hall.  
“So, you've been arrested for the third time this year, how'd you manage that, Kurusu?” the warden said.  
Akira didn't speak. In fact, he didn't even speak his name to the receptionist, until a guard bashed his back with a lightweight baton.  
After he was thrown into an isolated cell, he didn't ever leave, hell, they didn't even let him exit it at all, unless he was guarded heavily.  
He was to remain there for 3 months. With barely any time to speak with Ryuji.

Ryuji stayed in the hospital for weeks after his leg broke. He cried constantly. Thinking about Akira 24/7 thinking about their promise. Of course they were forced to break it.  
3 weeks have passed.  
Ryuji is able to walk, with crutches and a huge full leg cast at least.  
Akira barely ate anything. He only drank half a cup of water everyday. He felt absolutely terrible. He was starving himself, and he was incredibly dehydrated.  
Every time Ryuji and Akira had a chance to talk to each other they took it.  
The conversations only lasted 5 minutes, but they were their only chance to socialize with each other.  
Their first actual conversation since the incident was as follows,  
“Akira..!” Ryuji cried. “I-I'm glad you're okay,”  
“Same to you…” Akira cries, “I'm relieved to see you, this place has been absolute hell… I haven't been doing good at all…”  
“I'm so happy to see you too, I've been crying so much,” Ryuji added.  
Akira put his hand on the glass separating them, “I've been missing you so god damn much,”  
“S-same here…” Ryuji agreed.  
Akira said softly, “I love you so much,”  
“I love you too, Akira…”  
Moments later, the guards are pulling Akira out of the chair,  
“N-no! Please give me more time--” Akira cried.

From the other side of the glass, Ryuji shouted, “N-no..!”

Every time Ryuji was forced out of the hall, he felt worse and worse. He wanted to hug and embrace and kiss and hold Akira more than he ever had. He cried more and more, he wanted to die more and more. He just wanted to be with Akira, so god damn badly.

It was the same way for Akira. He fainted often because he got little to no sleep, and he barely ate or drank.

Akira was staring at the floor. He spotted a rock that was decently sharp, but not sharp enough to be a blade.  
He grabbed it, and started chiseling a sharp edge, to cut himself with it. He wanted to suffer. He wasn't with Ryuji, the only person who made him feel like anybody. He knew that Ryuji would never want this, but he couldn't take the emotional pain.

Ryuji isolated himself in his room, not coming out at all, except for lunch. He cried and cried and cried, his mother extremely concerned and worried for him, and Akira.

This continued the entire time Akira was in Juvenile hall.

The next time Akira woke up, he was in what looked to be an old hospital. He had IV fluids going, and he had bandages all over his wrists.  
He remained silent, aware of what he did, and what was happening.  
Akira was forced to eat at least something everyday but he refused. He did allow himself to drink lots of water though, so he could survive through to see Ryuji face to face again.

Ryuji barely moved ever. He only got up at noon to eat lunch with his mom. He barely talked, and didn’t answer any questions about Akira. He looked and felt so depressed. Clearly hurt both mentally, and physically.

The three months are over.

Chapter 16: Your Affection

Ryuji waited in front of the hall gates. He was the only one there. It was the first time he had left his apartment since Akira got arrested.

Akira slowly walked out of the hall main building. But as soon as he spotted Ryuji, he ran as fast as he could in his starved state to Ryuji, and hugged him oh so tight. “R-Ryuji..!” Akira cried.  
“Akira…” Ryuji cried in response, “are you okay..!?”  
“Y-yeah, I’m doing amazing now that I'm with you…” Akira continued to cry. “Are you okay?”  
Ryuji nodded, “I’m doing fine…”  
“Oh thank god…” Akira whined.

“Let's get going… I don't want you standing on your leg anymore,” Akira suggested.  
“Alright,” Ryuji acknowledged before giving Akira a kiss on the cheek.

They get to Cafe Leblanc. His stuff from the incident was sitting on his futon, and when they got upstairs, Akira could hear his phone blaring with calls.  
The couple initially ignores it, sitting on the couch, and holding each other, throwing in some kisses, of course.  
“I missed you so much, Ryuji.” Akira cried into Ryuji's shoulder.  
“I missed you too, Akira,” Ryuji replied.

A few seconds later, Ryuji notices the gauze covering the whole of Akira's forearm, which was initially covered by one of Akira's blazers.  
“What happened to you..?”  
“I-I…” Akira whimpered slightly, “I cut myself with a rock I found on the floor, and I didn't eat so I woke up in the doctors ward, with IV fluids going,”  
Ryuji gasps, “Why would you do that..?” Ryuji's hold gets tighter.  
“Because I missed you, Ryuji,” Akira cries.  
Ryuji begins to cry once more.  
“...”

Akira's phone continues to ring, or at least until Akira picks it up,  
“Hello--” Akira answered,  
Immediately when Akira heard the other voice, his face went from crying, to an almost terrified one.  
“...nononono..! I can't…”

“Just please no…”

Akira was choking on his tears. “Oh god--”  
“Akira? What's up..?”  
“M-my parents, they're forcing me to fucking come back in a week,”  
Ryuji gasps at the statement. “What..?”  
Akira continues to choke.  
“Nononono, this can't be happening,” Ryuji has a face of terror, and grief. They had literally just gotten back together, and now this? You've got to be kidding…  
Ryuji looks down, tears streaming down his face constantly. To try and cheer him up, Akira hugs Ryuji tight, and begins to kiss Ryuji's neck, and shoulders like he did a lot of the time. It didn't help considering that Ryuji would miss the feeling of Akira too much, and Akira would certainly feel the same way.  
They decided to not do as much lovey dovey stuff, but that was really hard considering that they both wanted each other so bad.  
Akira often couldn't help but just hug Ryuji tight and not let go for like an hour.  
They don't know why they started to avoid each other, but one things for sure, they do not want to be separated long distance.  
They loved each other so much, and all of that would be taken away in a week. What luck…

Throughout the week, they didn't do really anything. They both just felt so depressed.  
Akira felt worse than he ever did before. He didn't eat the entire week, and he barely ever left the attic. Everything was gonna be taken away: Leblanc, Jongen-Jaya, his friends, (not really) his school, and Ryuji.  
Ryuji continued to isolate himself in his room. He cried so often that his mom literally put an entire water dispenser thing in his room to make sure he doesn't get dehydrated. He was going to lose the one who is the most important to him; Akira. The last time he came to Leblanc, he grabbed the noose from the box he hid it in. It was tied to the ceiling already.

Sunday.  
Akira was getting ready to leave. His face was just covered in sweat and tears.  
He didn't want to say goodbye to anyone but Sojiro, Futaba, and of course, Ryuji; even though it hurt so badly.  
Futaba and Sojiro were in the cafe, so it was easy to say goodbye to them, except not really.  
Ryuji waited at the trainstation. His eyes were full of never-ending tears.  
Akira arrived at the trainstation, when he saw Ryuji, he ran over to hug him tightly.  
They both cried so hard that some people were looking at them funny.  
“I-I-i’m gonna miss you so much--” Ryuji cried.  
“I'm gonna miss you t-too--” Akira responded.  
It felt as if they couldn't get out of the hug, but they did, and it was soon to be replaced by a kiss on the lips.  
“I love you so much-” Akira choked out.  
“I love you too,” Ryuji cried once more.  
They separated, and Akira ran back to Leblanc to get his stuff, to get on the train back to where he lived before.

One month later.  
Akira sat on his bed, doing nothing, until the door was knocked. He got up and went to see what was up.  
It was a mailman, and he had a letter in his hand going to Akira Kurusu. After taking the letter, Akira walked back to his room to read what was in it. He saw that the return address was Ryuji's P.O. Box.  
He opened it to reveal a note.  
Akira, I'm so sorry. I just can't take the pain of losing you, it hurts so much to write this. Just, I'm so sorry Akira, I love you so much.Goodbye.  
Signed, Ryuji Sakamoto  
Not soon after reading it, Akira realized what it was; a suicide note.  
“N-no--!” he cried, “No-- no..!”  
He immediately started crying hard, and he scrambled to find his father’s gun.

He found it under his parents’ bed. He took the pistol out of the case and put one bullet in it. He walked to his room, pulled it out once again, put it out of safety, and ‘reloaded’ it.  
He raised the gun to his forehead, thumbs ready to push down. He was shaking, and he was fidgeting real bad but a few seconds later, he pulled the trigger.

 

 

Epilogue : Realization

Akira’s body had fallen backwards, his head hit the wall, blood spreading everywhere.

His parents hadn’t come home yet, so they couldn’t have known anything about this.

When they finally did come home, they expected Akira to be in the living room or dining room. And of course, he wasn’t. They went to his room first. They immediately spotted the blood on the floor, and wall.  
“What the hell!?” the father yelled.  
Akira’s mother gasped loudly, “Why the hell would he do this??”

Akira’s father then noticed the gun that had fallen from Akira’s hand.  
“H-he found my gun!?” he gasped, while Akira’s mother found Ryuji’s suicide note. She showed it to the father, and they both just stared at what was written.  
  
“Akira, I'm so sorry. I just can't take the pain of losing you, it hurts so much to write this. Just, I'm so sorry Akira, I love you so much.  
Goodbye.  
Signed, Ryuji Sakamoto”  
“Was this a friend of his in Shibuya?” Akira’s mother asks.  
“Probably, but what’s up with the ‘I love you so much,’ part? Were they..?” the father mutters.  
“He never called or contacted either of us the entire time, how are we supposed to-” Akira’s mother then realizes something, “We can check his phone..!”  
“Alright then,” the father agrees.

Akira’s mother reaches for Akira’s phone, which was on a table, unlocks it, and goes through all of his messages, all of the messages from the Phantom Thieves included.

“‘The Phantom Thief Chat’!?” Akira’s father gasped, reading their plans from Mementos, “H-he was--”

“What the hell happened while he was there!?” they both muttered.

Akira’s parents decided to create a new chat with all of the people associated with the Phantom Thieves, (so everybody in the Phan. chat) and typed,  
Akira: “This isn’t Akira, but you guys are the Phantom Thieves?”  
Ann: Yeah? So what? That’s all over now.  
Futaba: Is this about Akira or Ryuji?  
Akira: Yes. So about this ‘Ryuji,’  
Akira: What is his relation with Akira? I know all of you are friends with him, but about this ‘Ryuji’ specifically. I’m quite curious.  
Makoto: Oh. Well, they were boyfriends while Akira was still here. He, well, he ended up committing suicide because Akira had to go back.  
Akira: Is that so? Well, I’m sure you don’t want to know this, but Akira also committed suicide, presumably because of this ‘Ryuji’.  
Futaba: WHAT!?/!??!? ARE YOU SERIOUS!?  
Akira: Yes.  
Ann: Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god  
Haru: No… How are you so calm about this!?  
Akira: …  
Haru: If you are calm, you are two absolutely TERRIBLE parents! Your son committed suicide, and you don’t care?!  
Futaba: I WILL PERSONALLY GO OVER THERE AND MURDER YOU BOTH  
Akira: I wouldn’t recommend that, you wanna be like Akira?  
Futaba: WHY WOULD YOU REFERENCE SOMETHING LIKE THAT AT A TIME LIKE THIS!?  
Akira: Do you?  
Futaba: GET OFF AKIRA’S PHONE RIGHT NOW

Akira has gone offline.

 

 

A week later.

The Former Phantom Thieves are sitting somberly at Café Leblanc, dressed in black clothing.  
It was Ryuji and Akira’s funeral that day.

They all were crying heavily. Everybody Akira knew was going to be there, excluding his parents.

The funeral then starts at Inokashira Park.

Tears are covering everyone’s faces.

Everyone, and I mean everyone Akira had a confidant with (and Ryuji’s mom) came to the funeral: Morgana, Makoto, Haru, Yusuke, Sojiro, Ann, Futaba, Chihaya, Iwai, Takemi, Kawakami, Ohya, Shinya, Hifumi, Mishima, Yoshida, and Sae.  
They were all dressed in black, and the ex-Phantom Thieves wore a bit of red as well.

 

  
It ends after an hour of crying, and hugging, and a LOT of emotion.

 

 

Akira and Ryuji were to be cremated, and then put together in the Leblanc attic, where for the most part, stayed the same since Akira had originally left.

A “Do Not Enter” sign with the subtitle “under any circumstances unless given direct permission unless you are the following” was put up near the attic stairs. A piece of paper next to it listed the names allowed up there: “Sojiro Sakura, Ann Takamaki, Yusuke Kitagawa, Makoto Nijima, Futaba Sakura, Haru Okumura, Yuuki Mishima, and Morgana (a black cat with a yellow collar)”

  
Nothing was the same after Akira and Ryuji had committed suicide. Depression spread throughout the former P.T.s, even though they tried their best to stay happy.

fin.

 

  


**Author's Note:**

> tee hee


End file.
